Why blog?

Well, why not?

I love talking about software development, programming and computer science in general. I truly deeply really do. And not just about what I learned or used that day, but the why and the how of it all. Don’t get me started, ‘cuz I can’t stop!

Moreover, I am always thinking about new ways to put it all into practice. My mind is always working on new viewpoint and new ideas. Except when I’m at work, where I type out the solutions I had conceived of earlier. I get my ideas when I’m doing chores, exercising or even almost sleeping.

When I started tutoring interns, a little over a year ago, I found that I was completely overbearing. I was very present, constantly explaining things and minding them coding, so I could step in and advise. Of course that was completely ineffective for them, but it was sort of fun for me to do.

Fortunately for the poor interns I learned of (some of) my mistakes and I now keep my rants to a minimum.

In my daily life I’m used to writing down what happens, how I felt and how I reacted. A while ago I realized that software development, which is a large part of my life, was something I just didn’t mention a whole lot. How could it be that something that takes up so much of my time, something that I am so passionate about at times, how could it be that I don’t mention this in my journals?

After that thought I started writing my rants down. Eventually I figured: I am doing this journaling anyway, I might as well envision a target audience and hope that my walls of writing may help someone someday. And before I knew it, the entire blog was trapped in my head, and pushing to get out.

Should every programmer blog?

A co-worker of mine recently started working on a blog as well, because he thinks every programmer should keep a blog. This got me thinking… If not for a place to put your rants, what reasons can a programmer, or a person, have to blog?

• Showing off!
  By blogging I am feeding well into that part of me that just loves to impress others! I’ve learned a lot of things and I get a good feeling when I share that. I guess this isn’t too different from ranting.
• Engage and learn
  By putting yourself out there, you are setting yourself up for positive feedback and destructo-criticism. It can be a scary and hurtful thing, but getting feedback will help in making you either a better programmer, or more adept at ignoring nasty people.
• Improve writing and communication skills
  It’s not easy to communicate your ideas in a sensible manner. Anything you want to be good at will take you time and communication is no different. Especially for those of us who don’t have a lot of people around them who can or want to talk about software, writing is an excellent solution.

Of course, no one hás to blog. Heck, everyone should do what they damn well want to do. But if the above goals are goals you may want to achieve, blogging about your passion (software development of course) is a very, very good idea.